Mar 19, 2014

Sweet, spicy and flavorful – a lighter alternative to the popular Chinese fast food take-out dish and it's quick and easy to make!

I had a request a few weeks ago to make over this popular American-Chinese fast food dish which is usually battered and deep fried. To be honest, this is not a dish I would order because I'm not a fan of battered sweet Chinese dishes, but I was happy to tackle a lighter version. My solution was skip all that frying, and make a flavorful orange sauce. The outcome was great, and my husband even gave it two thumbs up!

I served this over cauliflower "fried rice" which I will post tomorrow but you could even saute some bell peppers, snow peas, broccoli or asparagus and add them at the end. Enjoy!

Season the chicken lightly with salt and coat evenly with corn starch, set aside.

Heat a wok on high heat, add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and add half of the chicken. Cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side until well browned, set aside. Add 1 teaspoon of oil and chicken and repeat cooking 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Set aside with the rest of the chicken.

Add remaining teaspoon of oil and quickly stir-fry the minced garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add theorange zest then return the chicken to the pan. Quickly stir the chicken then add the orange sauce and cook until the sauce thickens,about 1 to 2 minutes. Divide between 4 plates and garnish with the scallion and sesame seeds.

I wanted to let you know that if you're using tamari, you may need to cut the amount in half and use 1 part tamari to 1 part water. Tamari is really, really salty. La Choy is also gluten free and not as salty, and kikoman has a gluten free brand as well now which isn't quite as bad. I don't know why the gluten free soy sauces are so much saltier, but I've ruined more than one dish by not adjusting for it.

I just found tamari in low sodium! They have it at whole foods, but that's the only place I've seen it (I've searched everywhere in the dc metro area!). It is SO much better. I agree with you that tamari is way too salty, and salty things are my weakness.

We couldn't find the rice wine initially either, but when my husband Google'd it in the store, up popped an image of the bottle on the shelf. It was "Kikkoman Manjo Aji-Mirin Sweet Cooking Rice Seasoning" and on the shelf with the soy and teriyaki sauces.

I will have to admit that I do LOVE battered chicken. However, one of the main reasons I don't eat it often is because the excess salt (MSG) and sugar combination makes me eat too much, and ironically, I feel like I'm starving a couple of hours later. This recipe takes care of both issues. Good job!

I make something similar without the orange juice/ orange zest and sugar (not a fan of the sweet and salty thing...) I also add ground mustard. My boyfriend is soooo in love with it.. His fav! I may have to try it this way to switch it up! Thanks

It's a type of asian hot sauce, made from a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. You can usually find it in the asian section of your grocery store or supermarket. It's quite spicy, so a little goes a long way, but it adds a lot of flavour to dishes and soups

Just made this tonight with the Cauliflower fried rice and it knocked my socks off. I actually can't believe I was able to achieve such a meal! I had no srirarcha so I substituted a red chilli but I am definitely going to buy some on-line!

Thank you so much for this recipe - an absolutely fantastic "fake away" and I will definitely make it again.

Thank you so much, Gina, for giving this a shot! After I read all of the terrible reviews of other orange chicken recipes online, I went straight to you, and was saddened that you didn't have one (yet!). I can always trust that you make a recipe work before you post it, so I'm so thankful that you took the suggestion and ran with it. From the comments here, I'm excited to try it! THANK YOU!

This was delish! Made it tonight with a few modifications based on what I had: no rice wine, replaced with rice vinegar; no scallions; brown sugar; added a sliced bell pepper. Also reduced the corn starch (1.5 tsp in the sauce, 1 Tbsp for the chicken). Hubby loved it (as did I!). We'll add this to the regular rotation, swapping in different veggies. Thanks, Gina!

I just finished cleaning everything up, and this meal was delicious! My sister and I didn't have any rice vinegar or Chinese wine, so we used the white wine vinegar we had on hand instead, and it was still so good. Thanks so much!

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UPDATE: worked beautifully in the crockpot! i did quickly sear the chicken in the wok before putting it in the crockpot. i will cut back on the sriracha next time for the little ones' taste buds ... but it was DELISH a big hit with the whole fam.

Just made this tonight. This was so great. When I sautéed the garlic and ginger I added fresh green beans and sautéed for a little bit and added a splash of water and cooked for a few moments. Then added the chicken and the sauce. So yummy. Next time I will add less of the hot sauce. Too much for my son. Thanks Gina

Just fyi - Mirin is a sweet Japanese cooking wine, different than Chinese rice cooking wine. It probably won't change the flavor too much, but it isn't the same thing.A quick trip to an Asian market and you'll find Chinese rice wine if you weren't able to find it at your super market.

Wow Gina! This was fantastic! Almost all my guys (3 little, one hubby) loved it. I still need the perfect chicken dish for my 6 year old chicken hater!! However, this one was a hit with the rest of us. Thank you!

This was delicious! (Even though the chicken burned quite a lot when I put my wok on high - must have done something wrong, I guess, I'll use a skillet next time.) Had it with the cauliflower-rice, which was an amazing combination and so easy to put together. I'll definitely be making both of these recipes again!

Gotta love this!! I have been following your blog for quiet a while and have been trying most of your recipes, and I must say I am very pleased! I always end up finding great recipes and gorgeous photography on your blog.Check out my blog if you would like to see some food recipes and photography as well:http://elmarama.blogspot.com/Have a great one :* <3

You rock, I'm just thrilled to find you & your spin on healthy, yummy recipes...it's an obsession of mine! I've been morphing old school rich fatty crazy dishes into healthier choices! It's been a lonely journey, but 2014 seems to be alive with more of us, yup...even a nod to the sodium problem? Wow, I realized when I was in my late teens, that what I thought was free calories, like pickles, still made me swell up...A LOT! Well ya don't have to be old or have health issues to GET that's not good! I've been a chef for many years, but was a model & after a serious accident had gained a ton of weight, I did the fad diets...re-gained plus 20 more! That's when I got it, life-style change, I started eating 1/2 of my food...then reinvented myself! I'm disabled so move more, eat less sounds great in theory...not for me. Please, don't pity...I'm doing great, I've lost 150 lbs, all on my own, I'm out of a wheelchair, and cooking or my family & clients! As far as this Orange Chicken, OMG YUM...I did one change, that was toasted the seeds, in a dry skillet...blessings to you & thanks, Andrea

Yet again, another fabulous dish! Made it last night for my Chinese-food lovin' hubby who ADORED it! Gina, I have so many of your recipes that are standard rotation in my house, thank you so much! This will just go in the mix now too, since it's something I will love and eat as well! Oh, and I love my zoodles....so glad you turned me on to that handy device!

This was so easy and Amazing!!! I ate the leftovers the next day and still taste amazing.

Did not have rice wine so i use white wine vinegar. I replace the raw sugar with light brown sugar. Didn't have white pepper so I just use black pepper.

Next time im going to make the orange sauce but leave out the corn starch, then freeze it. When you're ready to use it just add the corn starch and pour it in. Also I was thinking of taking the garlic and ginger put in ice tray, then pour oil in the same cube tray. This way you just pop it out the ice tray and cook it. The one cube will will have the oil, garlic and ginger all in one. Just something I was thinking of trying.

I had everything except the orange juice so used lemon as others suggested-- YUM! Served with a little brown rice and lot of steamed broccoli. Delish. I just ordered my cookbook, can't wait! I have been sticking all the recipes I print out into a binder.

Hello Gina,I love your site and recipes.....easy, delicious, healthy thank you so much. I love this recipe. Spicy Chinese, I can make this recipe with shrimp, chicken, salmon, scallops. I wish I could post a pic of my dish, so tasty. Have a happy, creative, day!Joanne CC